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Alabama hopes long layoff pays off at NCAA baseball regionals

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Alabama Head Coach Mitch Gaspard cheers his team during the SEC Baseball Tournament Game 3, featuring Alabama and Kentucky, Tuesday, May 20, 2014, at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- First came the rest and recovery. Then came the "blue-collar" two-a-days.

The lag time between Alabama's first-round loss in the SEC tournament and its opening-round game against Kennesaw State at the Tallahassee Regional allowed the Crimson Tide to experience a condensed offseason of sorts within a 10-day span.

Alabama's hoping it's the recipe to fix what went wrong during the last month and put it on the path to success at a place where it's seen its season end two of the past three years.

"As much as anything, it was just back to having a lot of focus, attention to details and things we needed to clean up," Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard said. "I think we tried to structure practice in a way that was a little more blue-collar and get-after-it type mentality.

"I know this, all teams I've ever had when you work extremely hard leading up to games, leading up to tournaments, there's a sense of accomplishment when you have those kinds of practices. We've done a good job of that."

Alabama received a clean slate when it entered last week's SEC tournament, but the same problems that crept up near the end of the regular season -- defensive miscues, poor clutch hitting and a taxed pitching staff -- all surfaced in a 7-1 loss to Kentucky. That same clean slate exists this weekend -- with the luxury of a double-elimination format -- but the consequences of coming up short are far greater.

When Alabama played at the Tallahassee regional last year, most of its major contributors were making their first-ever trip to the postseason. This year, aside from star closer Thomas Burrows, starting leftfielder Casey Hughston and a handful of reserves, most Crimson Tide players carry the bitter memories of last year's postseason exit.

"I think that was a good experience for everybody," said senior Austen Smith, who added that the Crimson Tide specifically worked on opposite-field hitting during its break. "It got everybody ready for this year and everyone knows what to expect. Butterflies are gone from last year. We've got a more mature team ready to go."

One of Alabama's most seasoned players will be on the mound when it gets started Friday at 11 a.m.

Gaspard opted to stick with his usual Friday starter, junior Spencer Turnbull, because there was no reason to shake things up. Though he's struggled with his control at times, Turnbull has been Alabama's most reliable starter throughout his third, and likely final, season with the Crimson Tide.

In his last three starts, Turnbull, who hasn't pitched since May 16, has logged at least six innings and surrendered no fewer than two runs. He's lost all three times.

Gaspard said Turnbull's high velocity, which typically ranges from 93-96 miles per hour, was the deciding factor. Kennesaw State doesn't see pitchers with that sort of velocity very often in the Atlantic Sun, he said.

"Spencer's pitched on Friday night for us all year," Gaspard said. "He's really comfortable in that role, his team is comfortable with him in that role. On paper, we feel like that was the best matchup for us."

Lefthander Justin Kamplain, who ended his regular season with a complete game at LSU and 5 1/3 scoreless innings against Mississippi State, will start Saturday against Florida State or Georgia Southern. Junior Jon Keller, who typically started on Sundays throughout the season but has been dealing with bicep tendinitis, will likely be used as a long reliever. Freshman Geoffrey Bramblett would be a potential starting option if Alabama made it to a third game.

"There's no better preparation for postseason than going through the SEC," Gaspard said. "Now it comes down to execution, learning through the failures you had through the course of the year and preparation. I think that's where the past week has been good for us."